Mail-box signal and latch



J. B. MASERANG.

MAIL BOX SIGNAL AND LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23.1920.

1,366,323. Patented Jan. 18,1921.

ag 13W UNITED STATES,

"JOHN B. MASERANG, 'or- BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS.

"rrA IL-Boxs en L Amines. f r

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed m 23, 1920. Serial n 393,341.

I '0 all whom it mag concern;

Be it known that I, JOHN B. MAsnRANG, a citizen of the United States,residing at I Belleville, in the county of St. Clair, State of Illinois,have invented'certain' new and useful Improvements in Mail-Box Signals Vand Latches;- and 'I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will en-v ableothers skilled in theart to which it pertains to makeand use the same.

This inventionrelates to deposit and collection receptacles, and more esecially to letter boxes and'the object'of t e'same is to produceimproved mechanism for controlling the signal inoof the door.

support mounted on the keeper plate of the latch and having a finge'r"or crank which is held by the hook ofthe latch to sustain the signal inupright position, the same being released automatically whenv the dooris.

swungopen so that the signal falls unless it is againpurposely raised.

Details are set forth below and shown in the-drawings wherein; j V

Figure'l is'aside elevation of this box complete, with the door closedand the sig nal "raised. V

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 22of Fig.1, with the signallowered.

Fig. .8 is a plan View of thelatch with its parts engaged with eachother, showmg the hook as holding the fingerdepressed. V

3 Fig.4 is a perspective detailof the keeper plate and a slightmodification, showing the fingerin the act of swinging tothe positionwhere the signal is lowered 5 '5 a perspective detailof the signal.--

' with its plates disconnectedfrom each other door D. hinged-"at H toandadaptedto close and from the stafl. Y I 7 As herein shown. the letterbox 13 has a one endof the same, and this door has a marginal flange Fwhich when it is-closed embraces the sides and the rounded top ofthe boxto exclude the elements. The sig nal' S maybe of a'nyapp'ropriateconstruc tion but is 'prefera 'ly composed of metal plates standing inplanes at an angleto each other and painted in a bright color so thatthey may be seen from all directions when raised, and by preference Iprovide one plate with ai fiange l beveled oil at its end as at '2' sothat when the signal is lowered by the closing and latch- I I w j V sta.and; signal may swing rearward and The lnvention conslsts in a rockingsignal 7 as in Fig. 2,-jthis flange strikes the rounded top ofthe boxBand prevents rattle. The signal s mounted on a stall '3 which is bypreference a wire rod whose upright stretch carries the signal in aplane relative to the box about as shown in Fig. 2. At the lower end ofthe staff the rod is bent in a horizontal stretch leading over the topof the box, then bent into a double elbow 5,- then caratented Jan.18,1921.

ried across the keeper plate in what might be called a rock shaft 6, andthen turned up into a finger or crank 7. As will be seen in Fig. 1, thiscrank stands at a slightly obtuse .angle to the elbow which fact, addedto the weight of the signal itself, imparts a tendenc to'the shaft torock so that the entire downward unless it is. sustained in practi-'cally upright position by something engag raised when it is desiredtoindicate that the box contains mail matter, whereas at other times thesignal is allowed to drop and both :the postman-and the owner arethereby informed th'atthere is nothing in the box.

' A'keeper plate 10 is secured upon the top of the box near its open endby means of bolts or rivets 11 and 12, its forward end is ,upbent at 13and then formed'into a shoulder 14 under which passes the flange F onthe door, and the forward end of the shoulder is upturned into a lip 15constituting a catch asfdescribed below. At its rearend the plate isrolled to form a bearing 16 for the rock'shaft 6, and atone side of thehearing the plate is continued into a rest 17 to support the elbow 5when the signal is down. This rest is intended to sustain the weight ofthe signal, whereas the flange 1 on the'signal is only to preventrattle. However, it is possible that either element might be omitted andthe other permitted to perform both functions.

In Fig. 4 there is shown secured upon the plate, as by'the rivet 12, aspring 18 whose free end underlies the crank or fin er 7 when of thesignal S maybesufiicient to cause the Y riseof the crank without thespring, though I may employ the spring to make certain of- I the actionand to prevent rattle. A latchplate 2O secured'to the door D :asby'bolts or rivets 21 and-5Z2, and the lower portion of this'plate maybe bent 'OIltWZt-IfClY iIIt O a iingerqpiece orhandle 23 by- Qmeansofwhich the door can be opened and closed. 7 This latch extends for somelittle distance above the flange Rand its upper end is formed into ahook 2 1 projecting-over the" flange an'dupturned at its extremity as:seen at 25, whereas a crimp 26 is made in the lioolp'ne'a'rfits:juncture with thep'late as, seenlif r I f l- I 7 us assume that theowner hasput a Let piece of mail in the box and setthe'signal asseen irFigll; I The postman approaches andjsees thesignal. lierasps thelfinger*piece 28, pulls open the door,takes out the 7 mail, closes the door,and passes on. As he opens the door the hook moves away from itspositionover the catch and the tip oi": the crankl", and the latterbeing-released ,is thrown upward by the spring or: by pre pondera nce ofweight of the signaLso that the shaft 6 rocks in, its bearing 16 and thesignal falls to the position seen ins-Fig. 2. lVhen the postman closesthe door, the upturnedextremity of the hook snaps over the -lip.l5 untilthe crimp 26enga-ges with it, and this holdsfthe door D closed 'with itsflange F inclosing the end of thebox B.

The signal is down and there is nothing in the, box. The same operationwould have taken place-if the postman had pu't nail in the boxand setthe signal, excepting that I the owner o would then come and taketheshaft 6 and swing the crankdown until 1t depressesthe spring 18 andrests on the shoulder 14;, and then the door closed so that mail out. Toset the signal, the door is pulled open, the staff 8 raised to rock thethe hook-24 engages; the catch and passes overithe crank to both holdthe door closed,

and the crank depressed. 'ljhej act of opening and-closing Sand latchingthedoor is -the same at all times, but when the person doing so has putsomething into the box 7 and desires to set the signal to indicate thatfact, he will simply hold the signal raised While he closes and latchesthe door,-and' V-the-latchthen engages the crank and sustains thesignalin its raised or set'positi'on.

Obviously this invention can be applied to mail boxes of a'varietyof'sizes and-constructions, thesignalitself maybe any,

- which will answer, and it is possible to have- 7 means for locking thedoor in addition to the latch, if. desired. Other changes in or In Fig.5 the signal s is disclosed with its parts separated, the better to showits 'tion' in anydirection. I p in shape they may iollow theillustration construction. "The'rocl or staii ii passesng through a hole'30 'in the flange 1 at the lower edgeoi a{plate'31,"is carried upwardat 32 alongside this plate to a point considerablyabove} its upper edge,is there bent back on itself as at 33,'extends again downward'as at 35%,passes through a sec'ondhole j in the flange 1, and is headed or upset"'as at to'holdiit' in'place, The plate 31 lies alongside the twostretches 32 and 34 The lower edge of upper "edge or" .the lower platenearthe inner end of the 1atter,-and the upper edge the upper. platej'is notchd at-i487 at s about. its midlength-to be rengaged by and underthe band 33 in the wire ors'tai'i" 3. By this construct on the platesareneid at r ght angles to :eachother and against disloca- In proportionand by preference theyare of me tal painted or treated to render-thembright so as to be discernible i'r'oma dlstance. A signal ofthischaracter is especiallyuseful on amail box structure: wherein thest'afi' is an upv standingfpiece of wire' or-tsmall rod which can bebent and headed as described. l Vhatis claimed, 1s:

1. The combination withfa'inail box hav i ing a door, a latch on the,door, and a keeper f plate on the box having a catch engaged-by thelatchto hold the doorfclosed;-of abears, ring on said plate,- a rockshaft mounted therein and having at one end a finger uns i 2. Thecombination with amailbox haV- ing a-door, a latchjonthe door, and akeeper plate on the box having a catchengaged by the latch to hold thedoor closed; of a bearing on said plate, a rock shaft mounted thereinandhavin at one end a fin er un b D derlying the latch, an elbow at theother end of the shaft standing in a 1313116 at an obtuse angle'to thatoccupiedby the finger, a staff rising from :the elbow, and"a signalcarried by thestafi'. r a

The combination with mail box havi11 a door, alatch' on thedoor -havinga hobked end, and a keeper plate on the lZIOX having an upstandinglipgforming a catch ger adapted when depressed to stand in rear of saidlip, theshaft also; having a staif rising therefrom at an obtuse angleto the finger,- and a signal carried by said stall.

4. The combination with a mail box having a door, a latch on the doorhaving a hooked end, and a keeper plate on the box having a shoulder andadjacent the same an upstanding lip forming a catch to be engaged by thehook; of a rock shaft journaled across the plate and having a fingeradapted when depressed to stand in rear of said lip and rest on saidshoulder, the shaft also having a stall" rising therefrom, and a signalcarried by said staff.

5. The combination with a mail box having a door, a latch on the doorhaving a hookedend, and a keeper plate on the box having a shoulder andadjacent the'same an upstanding lip forming a catch to be en gaged bythe hook; of a rock shaft j ournaled across the plate and having afinger adapted when depressed to stand in rear of said lip and rest onsaid shoulder, a spring carried by the plate and pressing upward on saidfinger when the latter rests oncthe shoulder, the shaft also having astaff rising therefrom, and a signal carried'by said staff.

6. The combination with a mail box having a door, a latch on the doorhaving a hooked end, and a keeper plate on the box having at one end anupstanding lip to be engaged by said hooked latch, on its body atransverse bearing, and at its other end a rest; of a shaft mounted foroscillation in said bearing, a finger on one end of the shaft adapted tobe engaged by the hook of the latch, an elbow on the other end of theshaft standing at an obtuse angle to said finger and adapted to fallontosaidrest when the finger is released and the shaft rocks in itsbearing, a staff carried by said elbow, and a signal on the staff.

7. The combination with a mail box having a rounded top and open at oneend, and a hinged door having a flange for coaction with the sides andtop of said box; of a latch and a keeper plate on the door and the topof the box, a support pivotally mounted on the keeper plate and havingat one end a finger to be engaged by the latch and at the other end anelbow and a staff rising from the elbow, and a signal on the staff, thesame including a flange adapted to make contact with the top of the boxto prevent rattle when'the signal falls.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in the presence oftwowitnesses.

JOHN B. MASERANG. Vitnesses W. PUDERER, LOUIS F. EIDMANN.

